Neila and Vlad, he Haitian couple that the Immigrant Justice Committee (IJC) has been supporting since January 1, 2024, have accomplished so much in just one year!  Our August update reported that Neila had gotten a position with Boston Public Schools as a paraprofessional and that Vlad had graduated from the Culinary Arts job training program with Community Servings.  Vlad now has a part-time job at Cambridge Hospital in the food services department and is hoping that a full-time position will open up for him in the near future.  

Neila’s mother, sister, and brother, who arrived in December 2023 from Haiti, have been hosted by a generous woman in her Cambridge home, and they are all employed full-time.  The five family members have sufficient earnings and savings to be able to rent an apartment that will bring the family members together.  The IJC committee members have been helping them look for an apartment large enough for five adults and  located near the Orange line or E branch of the Green line, preferably in Medford or Malden.  So far, although they qualify for the monthly rent, they have not been accepted by any landlords—a great frustration for everyone.  In the meantime, the IJC and friends have been gathering furnishings and household goods for an apartment.  The employees of Insight Realty donated their moving truck, the time of two very helpful movers, and some furnishings which they moved into a storage unit!

We continue to collect needed items by sharing our spreadsheet widely in the hopes that we can collect the remaining items that are needed.

In the meantime, Mirian, the Cuban woman we had hoped to bring to Boston by now, has not yet received her travel authorization.  Given the results of the presidential election, we fear that she will not be approved to enter the U.S.  She and her family are devastated, having waited for 18 months for approval, only to be disappointed.  One of our committee members is traveling to Havana, Cuba, the last week in January, and will bring two suitcases full of items that have been requested by Mirian.  The items she has asked for are either unavailable in Cuba or are too costly for her family’s limited resources.  Her requests also appear on our spreadsheet as do the dropoff locations and dates.

There are many more immigrants in need of help.  Housing is the primary need, even if for a few days.  We receive requests for assistance and/or items needed on a regular basis.  If you are interested in becoming more involved, or even in receiving our emails with updates and requests (they are not overly frequent, we promise), please contact us at ijc@circleboston.org.